Love is Blind
by Lass
Summary: Serenity is going blind, but she isn’t telling anyone. But then, Joey invited her to come to Domino, to him. There, Marik Ishtar came along…
1. Invitation

Lass: I decided to start a new story with Seren as the main figure. I hope you'll enjoy this story.  
  
Serenity Wheeler was a fifteen-year-old girl. She was quite pretty with her soft brown hair with bangs and brown-green eyes. She was pretty skinny, but not that much that it became really freaky; more like slender.  
  
There was only one big flaw in that pretty outside; the girl was slowly turning blind. She didn't want to tell anyone; how would they react? Would they even react? She had always been kind of ignored. Her mother was always out working, and at school... Well, let's just say the boys had no interest in the skinny girl and the girls over there were all stuck-up bitches. But she had told herself she would manage. Told herself that she would do this on her own, not wanting to bother the only person that really noticed her; her brother...  
  
He would probably help her, but she knew he already had trouble getting enough money to pay for his apartment and his food and stuff. The expensive eye-operation that would be needed to make her get her sight back would be way too much for him, and she didn't want to bother him.  
  
Therefore, she had slowly taught herself to listen and smell very good; abilities who became better anyways because of her eyes failing. Also, her fingertips were now not only able to read Braille but too being able to read normal writing, by feeling how the letters always sunk into the paper a little.  
  
Nobody ever watched her closely, so nobody ever noticed. She hated it to be practically ignored, but she didn't want anyone to find out, or did she?  
  
On one side, she'd probably only bother the person with it, but on the other side, bearing this on your own wasn't easy at all...  
  
Right now at the moment, she was sitting on her bed, holding some letter in her hands. It was a very important letter; a letter from her brother, inviting her to come over to him, to Domino.  
  
She had no idea of what to do now. If she went there, he would surely find out she could barely see anymore. All she could see now was just some coloured blobs. She had no idea if you could see in her eyes she was about to go blind. But her brother wanted her to come so desperately. He had written her that a new tournament was about to begin; Kaiba's Domino Duel Tournament (A/N: OK, I made this up. It's kind of an AU). He said he wouldn't be able to win or even just fight in it without her support.  
  
She was in a deep conflict with herself. Stay with her mother meant to be bored throughout the whole vacation and being ignored and alone too, or going to her beloved brother and meet him again, and also meeting his friends... The decision didn't sound so hard to make, but there was always the probability of her big brother noticing her eyes and get to know her secret. The big probability, to be accurate. She would be watched all the time by him, so he would surely notice.  
  
She put her fingers at the paper again to feel the pressed letters, reading the letter again.  
  
'Hey there, little sis! I haven't seen you for a long time! How are you doing? Listen, I want to tell you something. It's your birthday in a few weeks, and I'd really love to see you again. There'll be a tournament around here, held by Kaiba; the Domino Duel Tournament, and I want to ask you if you can come over here. Not only for the tournament, but to celebrate your birthday too! Me and my friends, oh no, my friends and I (I don't want you to correct my grammar again) have the money to buy your ticket to Japan. If you reply quickly, we'll buy it for you. Please Seren, come! I really want to see you again. I'll really need your support with this tournament. I know my friends are a great help and so, and I'm really thankful to them about that, but it's your support I need! Please answer immediately and tell me you'll come. Love, Joey.'  
  
She sighed. She couldn't let her brother down. He sounded so desperate for her to come. She wondered what was going on that could make it this important for her to be there. The letters were pressed into the paper rather hard. After reading this way for a while already, she could pretty much notice the feelings behind the writer. And Joey sure was desperately wanting for her to be there.  
  
Serenity sighed as she realized she had known what to do from the beginning, but only wanting to deny it. She couldn't let Joey down. She would go to Domino City, to her brother...  
  
Lass: So, how was it? Review, please. I want to know if I should continue with this! 


	2. Gathering Information

Lass: Can you believe it? I actually updated! I know, it's been very long. If there's anything I hate, it's a writer's block. But please enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: Even though I wish I did, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of it's characters. I do own the plot of this story and this account, so don't sue me.

>

She heard the plane flying as she sat in her seat. A stewardess had been so kind as to show her to her seat. She was almost at Domino airport now. When she had phoned her brother she would come she had heard him cheer loudly and apparently his friends were over there too because she heard lots of cheers in the background.

She had a smile on her face now. She was flying to Domino City, to her brother. At the moment, Serenity worried about nothing. Why should she? She was away from her demanding mother, about to see her brother again as well as his friends, and her sunglasses were on. Serenity was glad it was summer now, so that it didn't seem strange to wear sunglasses.

They did not improve her sight, of course, but her eyes weren't visible this way, and that was exactly the only thing she wanted. Slowly, she dropped into a light sleep.

She shot awake when she heard the pilot tell the passengers to secure their seatbelts, because they were arriving in Domino City. The tension inside of Serenity began to build and she gulped as the wheels hit the ground. Her brother and maybe one or so of his friends would be waiting for her at the airport, to bring her to the hotel every contestant of the tournament was at. Everyone could bring one guest, since the hotel was colossal. At least, that was what her older brother told her on the phone. She became sad as she knew she wouldn't really be able to see if he was right.

The plane's wheels hit the runway. The plane had arrived at its destination, perfectly on time. Her real adventure would start today, even though she didn't know yet. And who knew whether she would get trough it unharmed. Serenity would need all the help she could get, but the question was if she would accept it.

>

She walked out of the airplane; following the footsteps of the people in front of her to make sure she wouldn't get lost. The vague colours that always told her where everything was, more or less, were vanishing more and more. It wouldn't take long before she was completely blind. Then she heard her brother call for her. She turned in his general direction and plastered a smile on her face. "Hey brother!" She felt strong arms envelop her and hugged him back.

He held her in front of him and took a good look at her. "You've changed a lot, sis!" He grinned at her when she said he looked just the same as he had before. She secretly hoped she wasn't too far from the truth. "My friend Tristan is getting your bag for you, so we can catch up a bit."

Serenity was glad that she didn't have to worry about finding her bag. Her brother led her outside, talking happily and asking her questions. The thin soles under her shoes told her that they were now crossing the road that was in front of the airport. They sat down on a bench.

Then Serenity decided to bring up the letter. "Brother, I need to ask you something. Why were you so anxious to have me here?" She heard him sigh next to her. At the same time she knew he was looking straight at her.

"It's really somewhat selfish. I know I'm taking all of your holiday, but…" She put a hand on where she supposed his shoulder was. The big blotch that represented her brother turned away from her in shame. "We haven't seen one another for a long time, and I missed you. Really much depends on this tournament, and there is just so much that I want to talk about, but there really isn't anyone who I'd like to burden with my troubles. Well, it's actually more like, I don't trust anyone with them, if you get what I mean. No one wants to see the always-so-cheerful-goon worrying. 'Cause that's more what I am to them. And you always knew how to brighten me up, even when dad was still alive, you know. And there is really no one that knows me as well as you do."

He seemed a little embarrassed by his emotional 'outburst', but she hugged him. "You know you can always tell me about your problems, brother." He nodded, not knowing that she wasn't able to see it anymore, and hugged her back. She had always been the smarter one of them.

He smirked. People had a completely wrong view on their relationship. They always thought that she was the dependant one, while he was the always smiling protector. In fact, it was her support of him that made him smile, her serenity the thing that calmed him down, and her humour that tested him and his thinking capacities. She wasn't as childish and dependant and he weren't as dumb and rash as everyone thought. They kept up the masquerade, though, for fun and for the reality they both wanted to escape. This was just so much easier, and it never hurt anyone. And both liked the idea that they might someday surprise someone who had the complete wrong idea about them and would try to take advantage of them. For that would happen; they were sure. They just hoped it would take as long as possible for that to happen.

Someone came sneaking up behind them. She heard it first, and smirked. "Hello," she said while turning around. A shocked gasp from the person's general direction told her she'd scared him quite a bit.

Now, Joey had noticed him too. "Tristan," he said grinning, "were you trying to sneak up on us?" He squeezed his sister's hand in pride, unnoticed by Tristan, and grabbed the cup of water the Tristan had had with him. All Serenity heard was a great amount of water being thrown at someone, but she realized she'd just 'saved' her and her brother from a very cold shower. The indignant scream of someone unknown, whom she supposed to be Tristan, told her that he was now both wet and cold. At least she wasn't the only one anymore who thought summertime was very useful. Unfortunately, it was just sunrise at the moment…

The guys came back to where she was still sitting on the bench. Joey introduced Tristan to his little sister and she held out her hand to where his voice was coming from. He grabbed it and shook it fervently. "It's so wonderful to meet you. Even though I mainly know you from what your brother told me, you seem like an angelic creature to me that has graced the earth with her presence…" He wished to continue, but Joey interrupted him, annoyed at his attempt at getting Serenity to like him. Tristan went after every pretty girl he saw, and he didn't want his sister to end up with someone like his friend.

She was glad he'd stopped talking. It had annoyed her slightly, although she supposed there had been girls who'd hit him for this and ones who'd dated him gladly. Her patience was legendary, though, and so was her resistance against everything that had to do with boyfriends. If there was anything she absolutely didn't want, and luckily, her brother knew that too…

Not long after, they were inside a cab. The driver had bothered them some time about Tristan's wet clothes, but a pleading smile from Serenity (and a towel she'd gotten from her bag) they were off. Serenity was not looking out of the window, for a good reason. Every time they passed by something important, Joey would point at it and ask her what she thought of it. She would answer neutrally, therefore giving him the false idea that she was indeed seeing them.

The girl could feel Tristan looking at her every once in a while, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. When he saw him staring, Joey hit Tristan over the head, but most of the time he missed his looks.

Finally the cab had reached its destination. Joey got out first, followed by Serenity and Tristan. When they had gotten her bag and paid the driver, they walked into the lobby of the hotel. They checked Serenity in, and then went to the elevator which would take them to the good floor. Pushing the button for the eighteenth floor Joey turned towards the others once more.

"It's still very early, so everyone is still asleep," he told Serenity. She nodded, already having realized this. There was a time difference between the US and Japan, and she'd noticed so before, when her mother and her had moved to America, and the times she'd come to Japan to visit her brother. Her brother had come to see her some times too, and he was always talking about having problems with sleeping and things like that too.

Inside the elevator, Tristan stood very close to Serenity. She tried to get even farther into the corner to evade him, but he just moved closer. When her breath became slightly quicker, Joey finally noticed it and pulled Tristan away from her. "We'll be having a nice conversation when we get to her room, Tristan," he hissed. The boy nodded, slightly frightened. At least for now he'd gotten the hint to stay away from the petite girl, something she was relieved about. The elevator stopped and they exited.

The hallway was completely empty, and there was no sound aside from to their footsteps. Serenity carefully glided against the wall with her hand, counting the doors they passed until they arrived at her room. At what she supposed was room 18;22 they stopped. Her brother opened the door and they entered. Knowing that this was a very expensive hotel, she gasped. "The room is beautiful." She always used the information she had to make up an appropriate reaction. Apparently, she had been correct once more, as her brother agreed with her.

"I'm on this floor too, in the room next to this one, on the right. Everyone I know, except for Kaiba, is here on this floor. On the other floors, there are others that I don't know, or don't know yet. In the basement, there are arenas. Everyday, there are battles over there. The loser has to leave, so we all hope that we won't have to face our friends too soon. But for now, I think you should sleep some to catch up. I'll come to get you for breakfast, 'kay?" She nodded at him smiling, and the boys left her in the room.

She walked around slowly. That way, if she hit something and therefore found where in the room it was, she wouldn't hit herself too hard. Soon, she pretty much knew what the room was like. It was bigger than the living room at her mother's, but it had everything in one room. There was a small bathroom on the left, which had a shower, a toilet and a washbasin. The bed was in the back of the room, with a small bedside table next to it. A closet to put her clothes in was not far away and in the front side of the room was a nice sitting area. There was a television and several nice chairs around a coffee table. A desk was against the wall, across from the bathroom. There was a soft, fluffy carpet on the floor, warming her feet. She absolutely loved this room. After putting her stuff away she went to bed. She'd missed out on quite some sleep during the flight and was really too tired to do anything useful anyhow. She was asleep in no time.

While Serenity was exploring her room, Joey pulled Tristan into his room before the boy could run. He turned to him. "Listen carefully, cuz I'm only gonna say this once. Ya're still my bud, but I dun wanna see ya trying ta hit on ma sista. Next time I see ya doin' so, ya're in deep trouble. And I ain't joking. Undastood?" Tristan didn't understand why Joey would suddenly use the New York accent he hadn't used for so long again, but he was smart enough to understand that he'd better not mess with him now. He nodded, and although Tristan didn't see him doing so, Joey relaxed. "Thanks bud," he said.

Joey's grin told Tristan that he only said that for his sister, not because he had anything against him. It reassured him, and he decided that he'd ask him later why he was actually so protective of her concerning boyfriends. But then again, from what he'd heard and seen the few times he'd seen her before was that he was always the protecting one and she was always the dependant one, so it wasn't really that strange. But she had changed since the last time she'd come here. She had matured quite a bit and had turned into a beautiful woman, of course drawing his attention.

When he walked back to his own room a little further down the corridor he was still thinking about the girl. She was so different from before. Her body was older and much more beautiful than it had been before, and one would be blind to miss the striking beauty she'd become. But he was tired right now, and he'd have a conversation with Joey later on. For now, he just wanted to sleep until it was time to have breakfast.

>

Serenity was already up when the knock on her door sounded. "Who's there?" she asked. Her brother answered, and she told him to come in. She turned off the laptop she'd been working on and got up from the chair at the desk. She asked him how his sleep had been, and he told her it'd been fine.

"Ya know, if I'd known you were up already, I would've come earlier. The rest is already having breakfast downstairs. I thought I'd better let you sleep in, but apparently you don't need that." She grinned at him.

"Probably jetlag," she said. "So I'm finally going to meet the rest of your friends. Tristan was the only one I'd seen before, so I'm really excited. I've heard about them from you, of course, but I've never seen them for real. They have to be great people, to be your friends."

He didn't miss the joke in her voice, and neither did he hesitate to answer. "I'm not that hard to live with, am I?" She snickered, and he joined in. "No, they're really nice. I bet you'll like them. And I don't doubt that they'll love you."

She looked at him, for as far as she really could. "Will they love me or my nice, obedient counterpart?"

"Both of them." There was no doubt in her brother's voice. Then, to cheer up the atmosphere, he started chatting about the tournament. Or rather the ones that would duel. "You know, people actually came from other countries to try and win here. We met some people from Egypt a few days ago. They were actually quite nice. Some girl and her younger brother, I believe. The boy is about our age, the girl is older. They're very rich, which has something to do with Ancient Egypt, something they're specialized in. It's quite strange, though, because the period they're the most familiar with is the one which includes the Millennium Items. I told you about them, didn't I?" She nodded. "Yugi and Bakura have Millennium Items, but we've seen that at least the sister has one, too. We don't know if the brother has one, but it doesn't really matter. Then there is also some freaky old guy, whom I think is somewhat crazy, who has an Item. He has an eye, like the one on the other Items, only this is really an eye. It's stuck where his normal eye should have been, and I really don't want to know how he got it in there." He shuddered.

They had been walking downstairs by the stairs, since Serenity really didn't like elevators. Sometimes, she got somewhat panicky in them, and they had time enough to get downstairs at the moment. If she could, she'd evade an elevator. "Also, there is some young girl from the US, like you are. She is one of the best duellists over there, even though she is very young. She's a little conceited, but I still believe that she can be a very good friend, like the most of us think. And we've met some shady character." He laughed, but his sister looked at him, not understanding it. "You only get the joke in that when you know his name. I've heard it's Shadi, which would make 'shady character' somewhat funny. But you don't have to laugh about it."

She shook her head. "Brother, if we were in an anime right now, there would be a giant sweat drop appearing on my head."

He snickered. "I know, I know… it was a lame joke. Just thought of it all of a sudden."

"You hang around too much with your friends and too little with me. You don't have to act foolishly around me." She looked in his general direction, and she heard him sigh. He didn't speak, however, but she could imagine her brother looking at the ground, thinking. Realizing that they were not downstairs yet, and that it would take some floors to get there, she asked him a question. "What's the problem about this tournament? I mean the one you asked me to come over for?"

He sighed once more. "I knew you'd ask me that soon. But I'd really rather discuss that when we are alone in one of our rooms. We can still be heard here, and it's really not something everyone needs to hear about." She nodded in understanding. They talked some about lighter subjects, and they were soon downstairs.

Many sounds attacked her sensitive ears, and Serenity found herself wishing that she'd come a little later to miss most of the people. But Joey pulled her with him, and when they stopped at a table with chatting people she realized that this were probably his friends. She smiled politely as he introduced her to them.

They liked her immediately. She was polite to everyone, and shook their hands shyly. Her brother and she sat at the table and started to eat. But while Joey ate as if someone would try to steal his food if he didn't eat it fast enough, Serenity calmly ate something while having an interesting conversation with them.

She heard Joey devour his meal next to her; another thing he never did when only she was around. While talking to his friends, she tried to get all the information she could about them.

Yugi was older than she was, just like the rest of them. He was friendly, and slightly shy, too. But he possessed an inner strength Serenity did not miss. If he was determined to do something, or if his friends were in trouble, he wouldn't hesitate to help and succeed, even if it cost him his own life.

Tea was a kind girl, very friendly. And while she was a girl, she was very strong-willed. She would assist and support her friends, just like she'd come here to cheer them on while she would not participate herself. She had faith in all of their abilities, even from those who seemed weak.

There was also Bakura. He was shy, but he liked his friends a lot. He seemed to feel almost guilty about something, which the rest didn't notice, when they were talking. She wondered what exactly was going on here, since most of them seemed to be tense. Her brother's antics seemed to lighten the tension a bit, and she tried to be relaxing too, but it still didn't disappear completely.

If Tea was strong-willed, Mai was absolutely unbending. She was a nice woman, yes, but incredibly self-absorbed. She did like the others around her, but she didn't understand the concept 'friendship' yet. From what Joey had told her, she knew that Mai wasn't with them for long yet, but that she had helped them a few times, even though it was good for her every time she did. Serenity was sure, however, that this tournament would change her vision on some things quite a lot. There was something eerie about all of it, which she knew even without her brother telling her exactly what it was.

Next to them, Tristan and Joey, there was also Duke. He was arrogant, but kind too. She gathered that he was the inventor of a new game, Dungeon Dice Monsters, but that he'd come here to duel. What was worse about him, though, was the fact that he seemed to hit on her, too. It made her feel very uncomfortable, even though she knew how to hide it very well.

She was glad that Tristan had stopped trying to get closer to her all the time, but now Duke was doing the same. She nudged Joey, who was seated next to her, and he noticed what was going on. Serenity assumed he'd given Duke one of his 'keep-ya-hands-offa-ma-sista' glares, for he stopped for the time being. She quickly managed to lighten the mood once more, however, when she started talking about the shopping spree, which in reality she hadn't had, with her friends, who she didn't have either.

So, with a completely made up story, she got them telling about some funny moments in their own lives. Joey pinched her arm slightly, and she knew he was proud of her. This helped for her mood, too. But when the meal was finished and they could leave once more to prepare for the duels, which would begin the day after the next, she and Joey went to her room for a nice talk. In the meanwhile, she heard Tristan pull Duke aside to warn him to stay off her, because of the warning she didn't doubt Joey had given him in the morning.

When they were in her room they sat down in the chairs, both in a comfortable position. She now had her sunglasses off, but he had better things to worry about than what his sister's eyes looked like. The door was locked and the walls were soundproof. Joey had told her that with a slightly suggestive tone while innocently asking why that would be. It lightened their mood considerably.

But eventually he would have to tell her about it. They both knew it, and a tension hung in the room. For some reason, this was really bad. That much Serenity knew. This was heavy to talk and think about for everyone. It made her feel slightly insecure; to know that something was so threatening that no one really dared to talk about it.

"There are many duellists in this hotel. The best ones are gathered here to duel. It's organized by Kaiba. At least, that's what the invitation says. But Kaiba hadn't been seen at all yet. People were getting worried, and there were a lot of stories going around. Then, everyone had to gather in the main hall. It was the day I wrote you. And while everyone expected Kaiba to finally show up, five other men came. They introduced themselves as the Big 5, the five top stockholders of Kaiba Corporation. They explained it all. This was not just a tournament, but a very dangerous one. The duellists that are here have won a chip. That chip, which is in fact a bracelet with a flat plate hanging on it, next to granting access to the building, also makes sure that we can't be away for more than three hours…"

She gasped. Her brother was having a hard time telling her, and he wasn't finished at all. "We had to show it at the entrance, where it was put around our arms and we were unable to remove it anymore. The guests get one too. You'll get one soon, I think. This way, we can't run, unless we want to suffer great pain and be tracked down once more to be returned. That was what they told us first. Then, they told why exactly they wanted to keep us here. We would duel as usual, but in a special arena. If you lose, you will be taken to them. They said that once you lost, you wouldn't ever see the outside world again. You would be used 'to serve their purpose'. They never clarified what exactly that meant, but it wouldn't be good. That much everyone understood."

They didn't speak while she was letting it sink in. Only one person would be able to win the tournament. That would mean that all the other duellists would be taken by this 'Big 5'. Questions rose from within her. She turned to her brother once more, who was now waiting for her reaction.

"You wouldn't lie about something like this. But why did you want me here then? And what happens to the guests if the ones that took them with them have lost?"

He sighed and looked over at his sister. His little, smart sister.

"They explicitly challenged us. They told us to go and find something to stop them. And if there's anyone I trust with finding a solution, it's you. Else, I'm sure I wouldn't make it out of here, just like most of my friends. I don't stand a chance against Yugi, and there are more good duellists here. As I told you, there are people from everywhere over the world to win this title. And I know I may act as if I think I'm unbeatable, I know very well that I've still got a long way to go." He put his head in his hands in defeat. Then, he answered her other question. "They haven't told us exactly what they are going to do with the guests. They haven't declared what they were going to do to the guests, but from what I've heard, the guests of who the hosts have lost are completely at their mercy. I'm sorry," he muttered.

The duels would start the day after the next one, and the pressure on the duellists was a lot. Some would lose just because of the pressure. And, she realized, some would lose on purpose, just because they didn't want to do something like that to others. There would most certainly be feelings of guilt after condemning someone to a fate like that one. Hell, the one who won the tournament must feel horrible, after all the ones he or she had defeated. And if not, there would be no good opponents anymore because they were all here.

While those thoughts were running through her head, Serenity was staring in front of her. There was nothing that she saw, only the vague dark blue colour of the floor. Her mind was working overdrive, and her brother knew better than to disturb her now.

Why would they want to do this? And why would they challenge them openly to find anything against it? Where was Kaiba? And what would be done about the guests? Question after question entered her head.

A knock on the door sounded. "Enter," she said. Someone came in, and from her brother's reaction, she could tell it wasn't a friend. He practically snarled at the one.

"I'm here to give you your chip. It allows you to enter the building, so you'll need it," a deep voice said. It was a man, probably about thirty years old. But it was filled with malice, and it made her hair stand up straight. She nodded, however. "Your arm, please."

Serenity stretched her left arm, and some sort of machine was put around it. She felt a sharp stab of pain, but she didn't make a sound. When the machine was pulled off again, she realized she was now wearing a bracelet, which was closed below her skin. It was too tight to be pulled off, and with the lock inside their arm, not many people would try to get it out. And even if you tried and therefore hurt yourself, it was probably such strong material that it wouldn't be breakable anymore. That wasn't too hard to understand.

The man started talking once more. "I'm Nesbitt, one of the Big 5. But I'm sure your host must've told you about us?" She nodded while they both ignored Joey's growl. He wanted this man away from his sister. "Do you have any questions, or should I leave?"

Serenity thought it over for a while. Perhaps asking some questions would help clear some things up. But if she played innocent right now, she might have shock with her later on. "You're not going to hurt my brother, are you?" she asked, with her most innocent eyes.

The guy chuckled. This innocent girl might prove to be fun, once her brother lost. He smirked at the brother, who was ready to attack. He seemed to be very protective of this naïve girl. "That would depend on what you call 'hurt', little girl." Then, he turned and left the room, only looking behind him once. The girl was sitting there with her head bowed; worry marring her features, while her brother was glaring at him and hugging his sister, comforting her. After that, he was gone.

When he was out of earshot, Serenity got out of her brother's arms and had a serious look on her face once more. "Well, there's your bracelet…" Joey trailed off. Neither knew what to say right now.

"Joey?" Serenity asked after a while. She heard a slight rustling sound and assumed he'd turned his head towards her. "You should be with your friends right now. I'll be staying here for a while; you can just tell them I still have some trouble with jetlag right now in case they ask."

She heard him leave, but not before he'd given her a strong hug and telling her he'd be back to get her for lunch. Serenity nodded and told him goodbye. Then, she was alone.

The fingers of her right hand touched the bracelet. It wasn't large, but she noticed that the material was very strong, as she'd expected. There was something hanging from it, which she assumed to be the 'key' into the building. Her sensitive fingers however felt that the plate wasn't as flat as it seemed. There was something engraved in it, very small lettering. Beneath her fingers, a text became legible.

'_S. Wheeler; Guest of J. Wheeler; little sister; devoted and dependent; attached to one another; no duellist; no danger expected; 1822; time outside: two hours'_

So that was what they thought of her, after they'd seen her. She assumed that they had watched her when she came in, and when she was at the table this morning. Else, they would have noticed that her sight was bad, something she assumed they wouldn't have missed if there was a camera in her room. She reminded herself to watch it while she was outside of the room. No cameras were used, for her behaviour had been anything but dependent when she'd walked downstairs with her brother this morning, but they might walk into someone out there.

After what she'd read on her own chip, she wondered what would be on the others'. But, although that was interesting, it was not what she should be thinking of right now.

Cursing under her breath, Serenity stood and walked up to her laptop. She would have to see what would happen to the ones who lost to know what to do about it. She opened Word and opened a document. While writing, she thought about what would have to happen. For one, Kaiba seemed to have disappeared. Then there was the problem that she had no idea what would happen to the ones that lost. Also, the purpose of this was a mystery to her.

By the time her brother came to get her for lunch, she hadn't really thought of anything yet. When she was submissive while they were walking downstairs once again her brother immediately got the hint to play along. The rest of the day went by swiftly, and when they all went upstairs to go to bed she knew the others better. She was still thinking while she was lying in her bed, until she finally managed to get to sleep.

>

A knock on her door disturbed her. "Who's there?" she called. When there was no answer, she repeated her question. No one responded, but she heard a soft thud.

Serenity got up and walked to the door, opening it. She took one step outside when she felt her foot hit something. Kneeling down, she touched it. 'It' was in fact a breathing person. She pulled them in and put them on her bed. The person was clearly unconscious, so she touched the face. It wasn't an old person. Then, she got an idea.

She grabbed their arms and felt them down, sighing in relief and victory when she found the chip. Touching it with her fingers, she gasped in shock.

'_M. Kaiba; Guest of S. Kaiba; little brother; energetic and devoted; attached to one another; able to duel; strict watch; 2802; time outside: zero hours'_

The young brother of the infamous Seto Kaiba apparently managed to escape. She checked him for injuries and found only a bruise on his head, where he had probably been hit. It was longer ago, for it was already subsiding, but it had been a good hit. She assumed that it had caused him to faint while looking for help.

He began to stir. She sat back just in time for him to miss her when he shot up. Then he spotted her. "Who are you?" he asked worriedly. He was younger than she was, she heard, and quite anxious.

"You're Mokuba, right? The younger brother of Seto Kaiba?" A soft rustle told her he nodded. "I'm Serenity, Joey's sister and guest. You know Joey Wheeler?"

A soft gasp, and then he answered. "Yes, I know him. Have you told anyone about me being here? How long have I been here? What happened?"

She giggled. "Those are a lot of questions, Mokuba. Relax, please. I haven't told anyone, you've been here for a few minutes, and I heard a knock on my door. When no one answered when I asked who was there, I went to the door and found you. That's all I know."

Serenity heard him lay back, mumbling a little. He was clearly thinking of something. "Serenity," he said tensely. She nodded. "I fainted somewhere on a hallway and I didn't knock on any door…" She pondered on this. Someone else must've brought him then. But why would they bring him to her?

"Mokuba, what do you know about the plans of the Big 5 and about Kaiba himself? Something must be done, and swiftly. I need all the information you can give me," she said. They might find him soon, and she needed all information in order to think of anything. This might be her only chance.

There was silence for a while, and just when she thought he'd fallen asleep, he started to tell. "I was used as some kind of hostage. Seto had to listen, or else they'd hurt me. From what I've heard, they are planning to use the loser of a duel for some kind of sick experiments. They were talking about putting them in a computer world, and making them duel monsters or something like that. But that would be their body. Their mind would be somewhere they said was the Shadow Realm. I don't know what it is, but I do know it's no good, since they were talking about 'pure torture for the losers'. Apparently, it had something to do with the duels being Shadow Games instead of normal duels. If you lost, you lost your soul, and your body could be used in any way they want. I don't know about the guests, though. They were having all kinds of gross fantasies about blackmailing them into doing things with the promise of bringing their friends back. But I gathered that that is impossible…"

She drank in all of the information. She tried not to think of how everyone would be lost in the Shadow Realm she had once made Joey talk about. But the Shadow Games had everything to do with Millennium Items, and she had heard of the ones who possessed them. It should not be the Big 5. But then she remembered the one Item that hadn't been mentioned yet. If they had the Millennium Rod, they could play the Shadow Games and send souls to the Shadow Realm. And the only way to get them back out was with another Item.

Soft sobs disturbed her, and she took the shaking Mokuba in her arms. Serenity softly soothed him until he had calmed down again. When he had, he continued. "We were organizing this tournament, Seto and I, when they suddenly took me in the middle of the night. They told him to finish the preparations and announce it. Then, when it started, we were brought here and locked up on the top floor. I tried to get away this night, but they had hit me on the head once, and I fainted in the middle of a corridor on the 21st floor. They tell a maid to bring food up every morning. She is the only one, next to the Big 5, who has a key to our rooms. She's not big, but we are given some kind of stuff that makes us very weak. She's also very mean, and continually keeps saying mean stuff."

She had an opening now, she knew. She asked Mokuba about the maid, and what she'd said. As Serenity had expected, the maid had told him some useful stuff. A plan began to form inside her head. And while Mokuba was sleeping in her bed, Serenity was working out a plan. It wouldn't stop the Big 5, but she might be able to get more information on everything that was going on. But she had one day, after which the duels would start. It wouldn't be enough, but she would have to do something as quick as possible. At four o'clock in the morning, Serenity left her room to go to the kitchen. No one noticed the practically blind girl silently make her way to the kitchen.

>

Lass: So, how was it? If you have any comments or suggestions on how to improve the story or my writing, please tell me! I really want to know what I can improve, and it'll be more fun to read if I do. So please, review!


	3. Playing The Part

Lass: I had the inspiration, and I'm going on a vacation tomorrow, so I wanted to update one more chapter before leaving. I hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: For the ones who hadn't realized it yet and the ones who are looking for people to sue; I know I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I just write stories about them. The plot of the story is mine, though.

>

She walked in the hallway when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned swiftly, but of course she couldn't see who it was. Serenity just waited, looking at the other in a way that she hoped would look expectantly.

"You're Serenity," was all that the person said.

The girl nodded slightly. The voice was one she hadn't heard before. She was talking to a male, probably a foreigner. He wasn't threatening her, and the way he'd spoken her name told her that he wasn't planning on doing so. But she was careful anyhow, not knowing the person and not being able to judge him yet.

His hand was off her shoulder now, and he was standing a little further away than before. He was waiting for her to ask him what he wanted, she guessed, but she wouldn't ask him that. If he wanted to tell her, he would. If it came to talking about patience, you were talking about Serenity. They stood like that for a while, until one of them gave in finally.

"You don't know me yet. I'm Shadi. I believe you've heard about me from your brother?" She nodded once more. Serenity remembered Joey's lame joke about the 'shady character'.

Once again there was a silence, and she waited until Shadi would say whatever he wanted to say. Eventually, he continued, although obviously not wanting to. "I'm the keeper of the Millennium Items, and in the possession of two of them. I got stuck in this tournament when I wanted to find the others. I realize now, though, that it was the wrong thing to do. I can't get away anymore, and I'm not the best duellists. When someone beats me in a duel, I lose both my soul and my body. And that would mean that the Items I carry aren't safe any longer. I want to have them somewhere safe."

She was surprised. "And what do I have to do with this?"

He chuckled. She was glad that apparently she'd been funny, she thought sarcastically, but that was not really the reaction she'd meant to cause. "You are the one I want to give them to."

Serenity was stunned into silence. He must've made a mistake. "Why?" She didn't really understand it either way. He could better give them to Yugi, he wouldn't lose a duel. And if he didn't want to give them to a duellist, why didn't he give them to Tea. She was Yugi's guest, and therefore safe from them. Anyone but her, anyhow, was a better idea.

When she told him this, however, he disagreed. "I observed everyone around here, and you were the best choice. I won't say much about this anymore, since I don't feel like I have to explain myself. But I do want to ask you not to show anyone else the Items, nor tell them about it. This should stay between us. Use them well." He took her hand and closed it around a bag. Then, he released both her hand and the bag and walked off. His soft footsteps were the only things that enabled her to tell.

"Thank you for bringing Mokuba to my room," she said.

The sound of a coat moving swiftly told Serenity that he had turned to face her. "How did you know that?" he asked her, sounding surprised.

She giggled. "Lucky guess," she told him. He walked off again, a faint smile on his face, leaving her alone in the corridor.

Without losing any time, she went to the kitchen. Those Items were very interesting, but that was not quite what she had to be concerned about at the moment. Serenity was the first one to arrive in the kitchen, and she seated herself carefully beside a table which was so filthy that she had to make sure she didn't sneeze, a cup of water next to her. The good side of it was that this showed that it was probably not often used. She cursed her bad eyesight, but there was nothing to do about it. This would have to do.

Only a few minutes after she'd arrived, at what Serenity assumed to be a quarter to five, someone entered. Soft mumbling noises told her it was a woman. This was probably the woman Mokuba had been talking about. When she saw the young girl sitting in the kitchen this early, she gasped. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked. Her tone was everything but friendly, and yet it was not hostile. The woman was good, Serenity admitted, but she was better.

"I'm one of the maids here. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd just sit here until it is time to get to work. And what about you?" The maid scoffed silently. While trying to contain a smile, Serenity realized that there were good things about bad eyesight. It gave her some advantages.

The voice of the other pulled her from her thoughts. "I'm here to get some food."

Serenity gave her her most innocent and inquiring look. "This early? I think you can better just drink something. It's not good to eat this early." The other woman bought it, and she sat down on the opposite of the table. "Should I get you something to drink?" Serenity asked kindly.

"No, thank you. That will not be necessary. The food is not for me, you know." Serenity held her head slightly bent to the right, inquiring the maid to continue. "There are two boys who need food, and I'm supposed to bring it to them."

This was easier than expected, at least until this point. But nothing useful had been told yet. "What a waste. Can't they get it themselves? Or are they just too snobbish to do so?" The maid snickered, and Serenity knew she had her now. The maid liked her and didn't suspect anything. She reminded herself to stay on her guard, though. She should never underestimate any opponent, not even if the game seemed to be over.

The maid had stopped laughing, and Serenity heard her grab a glass of water. Then, she sat back down. "No, they aren't allowed to come down, that's why I have to bring it to them. But I'm sure that if they were allowed to eat with everyone else, they would indeed still tell me to get them their food."

Serenity now laughed with her. "What a shame. Who are they, that they would feel too good to get their food themselves? Or are they just pretending that they can't get out having you get it for them, to make sure that they wouldn't get a bad reputation? Or maybe…" She stretched the silence a little, "they just want you to get it for them?" A small wink of her eye made the other giggle girlishly.

"No, I'm not that beautiful," she said shyly. The other girl, however, could hear the dishonesty of it. She just didn't show it.

Serenity looked at the maid sarcastically. "You've got to be kidding me. There are very little women I know that would even look remotely good in that worthless uniform, let alone making it look good on them. And please don't tell the others I told you that," she finished in a whisper.

They giggled together. "No, that isn't the case. They really aren't allowed to leave. One of them is quite attractive, he's about as old as we are. The other is just a kid. But they both don't like me a lot at all."

Serenity let out a fake disappointed sigh at the news that the attractive one, who she was sure would be Kaiba, didn't like the person she was speaking to. "Stupid prejudiced guys," she remarked. "Just because you are a maid, you are nothing to them. I hate that kind of people. So kind when you are of some use to them, but once you are below them, they think they are so good…" Her words were filled with contempt, and she drank some of her water.

"No, it's my own fault anyhow. But I wouldn't want him even if I could. He has no power anymore, and they will both be killed at the end of all of this. So what's the use of it? The only reason they are even still alive is because they somehow need them to succeed in what they are planning. And I wouldn't want a boyfriend, even if he's rich, who is only able to sleep, stare and get fed. He even barely talks anymore."

She saw Serenity's confused face. "If you hadn't realized it yet, I'm talking about the Kaiba brothers right now. Seto Kaiba is the oldest of them, and the most dangerous. If he would manage to kill himself, something he'd gladly do to save everyone else, everything would be ruined. He told me himself that he'd rather die than let the Big 5 do what they want to do to everyone. His little brother, Mokuba, isn't essential to the plan. But as long as he's alive, they can use him to convince Kaiba to cooperate. Losing him is therefore not a good thing, either. I have to bring the annoying little pest to his older brother every day, unharmed. Not that he will ever notice that his little brother wears the most concealing clothes we can find for him, of course. He's too drugged for that. And Mokuba doesn't know that we use him to control Kaiba, and the other way around. Mind games are so funny."

Instead of letting everything sink in as usual, Serenity continued to play the curious girl part with surprising ease. "But what if rich boy finds out and kills himself, or if he refuses to cooperate? That can always happen, can't it?"

She bent over, as if she was so intent to hear more of the story that she wanted to miss nothing of it. "Look, it's like this; they need Kaiba's voice and mind pattern to make it work. He can shut up, but then we bring his brother in and torture him, and then it's fine. He doesn't have a choice concerning the mind pattern, since we just hang him to a machine and it will recognise him. But if he lost his voice, or even worse, died, the whole stuff would crash down. We might be able to fake the voice, but not the mind pattern. But he won't be able to kill himself, since he's totally drugged and tied to the bed. And no one beside me and the Big 5 have the key to his room."

"But why do they trust you with something like that? It's a great responsibility, and they are all rich guys. Those usually don't trust a maid with the key to their plan." She sounded as clueless as she could, which wasn't very hard, considering that she really didn't understand that they'd even trust a woman like this with their whole plan.

The maid sighed dreamily, and Serenity almost knew what kind of story would follow. "I have to help them too, and when I was there, one of them showed extra interest in me. We are now in a relationship, and he tells me everything I want to know. I have him wrapped around my finger."

Serenity sighed dreamily, too. "Is he handsome? And does he have a good position in the Big 5?" she asked curiously.

The maid smiled secretively at her, something Serenity didn't see. "He's very handsome. He's in his late 30's, and he used to be in charge of Technical Engineering. His name is Nezbitt, and he's the one who really does all the technology. He's one of the best of them, and possibly the most important save for one of them. But that person is too old for me anyhow. Leichter is about 40 years old, and he is really the brains behind the whole thing. Although I do have to say that he's the sexiest one of them," she added in a hushed voice.

Then, she let out a small scream. "Oh no, I have to get to work! I've been talking for too long! I'm so sorry, but I should be on my way up by now. Perhaps I'll see you later!" she called as she ran out of the room with the pushcart the food was placed on, which had been standing there all the time.

"It was nice talking to you," Serenity called after her. When she was sure that the other was gone, she went up the stairs once more, the bag that Shadi had given her still in her hands.

She entered her room cautiously and put the bag out of sight. Mokuba shouldn't see it either. Serenity could hear his slow breathing, indicating he was still asleep. She sat down behind her desk and opened her laptop, pushing the 'on'-button. When a small noise came, almost inaudible, she typed in her password. The traditional opening tune sounded. Word opened itself automatically. Her sight couldn't even make out the outlines of the program anymore, and she knew it wouldn't be long anymore before she'd be completely blind. Her fingers on the keys told her where the f and the j were, and from there she went to the ctrl and o button. She pushed the arrow downwards two times, and then she was at the document she wanted to open. She pushed enter and listened as the computer opened it. With the ctrl and end button, she was at the end of the document. Her fingers looked for the familiar f and j once more before she started typing.

Serenity had always dreamed that she would make enough money to pay for the operation. Then she would not be blind anymore, and she would be able to correct the pieces she wrote. They were all stories, some bigger than the other, and she wanted to see what a publisher would have to say about it. She was anxious of showing her stories to others, however. The stories were a part of her, and she was afraid that people would think they were ridiculous. Therefore, she preferred to show them only without her name on it. That way, people could say what they wanted about it without knowing it were her stories. But she had never done that either. How would she be able to know what people thought about them? And there were still too many errors in them for anyone to see.

She heard groaning, and realized that Mokuba had woken up. She swiftly saved it and closed the program. Serenity then turned towards him and smiled at him as he sat up. "Good morning, Mokuba."

He yawned and got out of bed. "Good morning, Serenity. What time is it?" She answered that there was a clock on the wall, something she only knew because she'd heard it ticking before. "Why are you up at half past six in the morning? I'd think it's still a little early."

She grinned at him. "It's probably still the jetlag. And why are you up this early, then?"

Serenity heard him sigh and sit down in one of the chairs. "This is about the time where they usually wake me to go to Seto. I guess I got accustomed to it." She got up to sit next to him and put her hand on his arm. He seemed to hesitate slightly before crawling into her arms, softly crying. She heard his unsteady breathing and embraced him tightly. "Can you get Yugi and the others?" he said, trying to stop crying. "I want them to know what's going on, and they are my friends."

She agreed to get them. While telling him to hide under the bed for the time being, she walked to her brother's room, which was next to hers. At first, Serenity didn't knock too hard. When he didn't wake up she knocked harder, before whispering it was her, and not one of his friends. Immediately there were sounds inside, and not too long after, her brother opened the door, fully dressed and awake.

He looked at her inquiringly. "Please wake your friends and bring them to my room. Do not wake anyone else, and try not to be seen. Pretend you were the one who found him," she whispered softly. A rustle told her he'd nodded, and he went to do so without further questions. He knew better than to question his sister. She went back to the room, locking her door behind her. "Mokuba, it's me. You can come out now. Don't worry, let Joey and me do the talking."

They waited for a while, until there was a knock on the door. Serenity went to the door, but she didn't open it yet. "Seren, it's me and my friends," she heard Joey say. She opened the door and ushered them in.

When Joey entered the room, he was surprised to find Mokuba sitting on one of the chairs. The others saw nothing but a smile on his face, however, as he walked to the young boy. He now understood what his sister meant when she told him to pretend that he was 'the one who found him'. He noticed the others' surprised looks and smiled at them. They sat down slowly, holding their questions on Mokuba's behalf, who looked like he had just experienced something horrible.

He got to the acting immediately. "I found him this night," he told them. He noticed Mokuba's questioning look, but the boy didn't speak. "He ran and came here. I brought him to my sister, since he had fainted." The look had disappeared from Mokuba's face, as if he finally understood something.

Serenity knew that it was not the truth from her brother's voice, but she assumed that Mokuba didn't. Joey had said the exact right thing to fill up the story for Mokuba.

That was when she noticed that something wasn't the way it should be. She listened to everyone's breath. There were two people on her left, three near the seats, three further into the room and two on her right. She counted the people that should be here according to her, and counted eight. But who were the other two, then?

She thought a little longer, but she couldn't think of anyone she knew. So when everyone had gotten used to the idea that Mokuba was indeed in this room, she spoke up in her innocent voice. "Big brother, who are they?" she said while looking in the direction from where she'd just heard his voice.

He gasped a little before he answered. "I'm sorry, little sis. They are Ishizu and Marik Ishtar, the ones I told you about earlier. They are from Egypt." She nodded. She knew who he was talking about. "They came here because Ishizu had seen Mokuba and you waiting for something with her Millennium Item, and she knew you were my sister."

The necklace. Ishizu Ishtar was in the possession of the Millennium Necklace. Her brother had told her about the Items and their powers, and the power of the Necklace was that of being able to see the future.

A female voice from her right told her that Ishizu was standing not too far away from her, still near the door. "It's nice to meet you, Serenity," she said.

Serenity smiled in her direction. "The feeling is mutual, miss Ishtar." Ishizu' soft laugh sounded through the room.

"You can call me Ishizu, Serenity. There is no need for such formality." Then she heard rustling from her general direction and the voice of the woman again. "And the boy next to me is Marik, my younger brother."

If Serenity had been able to see, she would have seen the boy look at her annoyed while the sister was talking to the others. But all she noticed was the voices that were asking Mokuba for information on the current situation. The young boy told them everything he could, which wasn't any more than what he told her. Everyone but her was now sitting in a chair, listening to him.

She sat sown behind her desk once more, opening the laptop. She continued typing until she heard one of them get up and walk towards her. The footsteps were soft, and any normal person would've missed them. But her improved hearing enabled Serenity to hear him before he was with her, and she closed the computer before the person was close enough to read anything.

It sounded like a boy, and a little later, her suspicions were confirmed. "What were you doing?" asked a voice Serenity hadn't heard before. The voice was rich and deep, and she knew it was Marik.

She turned around and smiled at him innocently. "Just typing away," she said with the same innocent, childish voice she always used around people that were not her brother. "Why?"

He just snorted and turned away. This girl was too childish. The way she talked alone annoyed him. Then, her brother noticed him. "Marik," he called. "Don't mess with my sister." The looks on the faces of Tristan and Duke told Marik that he was not the only one who had received that warning. He rolled his eyes, sighing quietly.

Marik walked away, mumbling silently. "Great; overly dependant, horrible taste in clothing and an overprotective brother. Just the kind of girl I like," he muttered sarcastically.

Of course, Serenity had heard him. She bit her lip. Even though this was exactly what she wanted other people to see, it still hurt a bit. And so what about the clothing? How can you expect someone who is practically blind to find some good clothing? She was already happy when she could discern the black clothes when she was in a shop. Black was a good colour; it went with everything and it would never be a bad combination. Unless, of course, you were wearing a sweater that was two sizes too big and pants that were too. But they were comfortable, and that was what it really was about to her.

Serenity turned back to her computer and went on, meanwhile listening to Mokuba telling the others everything. "I didn't know what to do, but I do know that my big brother wouldn't want everyone to suffer. He'd rather sacrifice himself. So I ran when I had the chance, even after they told me that they would hurt my brother if I did. And now I feel all guilty about doing so," the young boy finished softly. Before anyone could say or do anything, a knock on the door disrupted them.

Swiftly, Mokuba crawled under the bed while Serenity went to open the door. She heard the groaning of some of them when they saw her going, and she recognized Marik and Mai's voices. The girl ignored them, though, and opened the door.

"We are looking for someone," an unfamiliar voice said sternly.

She looked up at him with innocent, questioning eyes. "Who are you looking for, then?"

Serenity knew that no one could just push her out of the way now. She would never lie to anyone. At least, that was what it seemed like. But they could try to put some pressure on her, to make her talk. Which was exactly what the man did.

"I think you know who I mean," he said. His voice was stern, and no doubt could be heard. But Serenity wasn't that easy to frighten.

She once again raised her eyes to his. "I'm sorry. Are you looking for my brother or one of his friends?" she kindly tried.

He looked down at the girl. She was looking up at him with that innocent look once more. He knew that this was Serenity Wheeler, the young sister of Joey Wheeler, who was friends with the Champion, Yugi Moto. He and Kaiba were acquaintances, and the young Kaiba was actually a friend of theirs. But she wasn't dangerous. If you would put enough pressure on the innocent girl, she'd give in eventually. "Yes, I'm looking for one of his friends. But no one is in their room. Do you have any idea where they are?"

The girl nodded. "They're inside my room. Who are you looking for?"

Inside the room, everyone looked at one another exasperated. Then they turned towards Joey, hoping that he'd interrupt the girl before she'd say anything else. This was going the wrong way. But he did nothing, and at the door, the conversation continued.

"Can I see them?" he said. She nodded and stepped aside, allowing him in. He just looked past her inside her room and found them sitting there, looking at her. The young Kaiba wasn't with them, but he was sure the boy had to be somewhere. He decided that this girl was the easiest way to victory and turned towards her again. Luckily, he missed the desperate looks everyone gave one another. "What are they doing here?" he asked her.

She realized he'd only taken a look at them before he had talked to her, and that he was planning on trying to get her to spill. "We were talking," she said truthfully. Behind her, everyone was trying to contain themselves from going there, making the girl shut up and talking them out of this. But they knew that this would be too obvious, so they had no choice but to listen.

In the meanwhile, the man was delighted. This was just too easy. "About what were you talking?"

Serenity heard the confidence in his words. He knew that she was not one to lie, and not able to take any pressure. But the held breaths behind her told her that he was not the only one. "About this Tournament," she said. "And about the Kaiba brothers."

Knowing that the guy could not see them, the others put their heads in their hands. Only Joey remained staring at his sister's back, hoping that she knew what she was doing.

"Who are inside your room?" the man asked.

Serenity pretended to be surprised. "Why?'' she asked him naively.

He took it as a sign of nervousness and went on. "I think that you know perfectly well why I'm asking you this, girl. Don't try to mess with me. Now tell me, where is he?"

She pretended to be impressed by him. "You just saw the persons who are inside my room, sir. Who are you looking for if it's not them?" But her voice sounded nervous while she asked him this.

He smelled his victory. "I'm looking for the young boy that is hiding inside your room."

The others knew that they were defeated and leaned back, their eyes closed. There was no way that he wouldn't find Mokuba under the bed if he came looking. There weren't that many places where one could hide. And Serenity wouldn't be able to get herself out of this.

Mokuba, under the bed, was shaking with fear. He'd recognized the voice as that of Johnson, one of the members of the Big 5. He wondered what had happened to Serenity. She'd seemed to know what to do all the time while they were alone. And then she'd gotten her brother and she seemed even more childish and afraid than him. He didn't understand it. And now, because of that, he would be brought back again. Was it because he'd told them everything and now, they didn't need him anymore?

Serenity looked down for one second, before looking up to him once more. Then, she sighed dramatically. Almost as if she was faking it, he thought. She stepped aside, allowing him to enter. Johnson took it as a sign to go and look for him, as if she wanted to challenge him. He smirked at the girl, not knowing that she wouldn't see it anyhow, and walked past her. He saw the others staring at him and he smirked at them.

Before anyone could try to do anything, Johnson walked further into the room. He walked to the bathroom to see if the boy was there. While the others seemed to be glaring at the girl, he realized that the boy was not in the bathroom. As he walked out, however, he saw the others staring surprised at the spot where the young girl stood before. He saw her running through the hallway. He cursed himself. Of course the sigh had been faked. She had tried to get him into this room while she was going to warn the young boy.

The others were looking surprised as the man ran after Serenity. Joey was the only one who understood what she had just done. And when her desperate cry rang through the hall, he ran to Mokuba. "RUN, MOKUBA!"

Marik was staring surprised at Joey, who told Mokuba to stay there, and don't listen to what the girl said. Even her older brother didn't trust her judgement, he thought.

When she had heard him enter the bathroom, she ran into the corridor. She opened the door to Yugi's room while running on to the stairs. Serenity just hoped her brother knew what to do now, because if he didn't…

Johnson ran after the girl. He saw the opened door that led to the room of the Champion. He should've known that they'd hide the boy in his room and not in the girl's. He spotted her near the stairs. When she heard him coming, she looked in his direction once before turning to the stairs for one last time. "RUN, MOKUBA!" she screamed. Then, she turned to him and spread her arms in front of the stairs. "You'll have to get through me to get him, you mean guy," she said. She seemed to be determined to give him as much time to get away as she could.

"Gladly," he said. He walked to her and pushed her aside. But he felt her nails in his arm, and she was struggling to keep him there. He tried to get his arm out of her grasp, but her nails were in his arms now. He had to admit that it actually hurt him.

He then swayed with his arm, causing her to hit the railing that surrounded the stairs. But she wouldn't let him go, and his arm was bleeding because of her nails. Johnson then used his other arm to grab one of hers and press hard enough to make her let go. When he wanted to do the same to the other arm, however, she put the nails of her other hand back into his arm. He then smashed her roughly against the railing once more, before hitting her over the head, hard. She finally let go as he ran after the boy.

He'd lost too much time, he realized. The stupid girl had managed to keep him busy long enough for the young Kaiba to hide somewhere again, and he couldn't be tracked down when he was inside of the building. And the tranquillizers he'd been given to keep him calm and unable to think clear would've stopped working by now. But he couldn't tell the others that he'd lost the important boy just because of the bad acting of that stupid girl. And so, he ran as fast as he could.

While Serenity was busy with keeping Johnson from going down the stairs, Joey was trying to stop Mokuba from running like his sister had said. When the boy finally calmed down, he looked up to see the others looking at them.

He got up and looked at them. "Why are you still sitting there?" he asked them while running to the corridor. They looked at him surprised, not knowing what to do.

The force of the blow had been enough to knock Serenity unconscious. She vaguely discerned footsteps coming her way, but she was unable to do anything. Unbeknownst to her, her head was bleeding from a wound she'd suffered when she had fallen to the ground. She could hear her brother say her name, and then she fainted once more.

Marik shook his head. What had the girl been trying? Trying to distract the man while Mokuba should run? That was a useless action, since he wouldn't miss the boy. When he saw his sister get up to see what was taking Joey so long, he raised his eyebrow at her. Ishizu just walked out, however, without answering him.

"Why did Serenity do that?" Tea asked, clueless. "I mean, he could never have gotten away…"

The others agreed with her. "One of us should have opened that door. He'll surely return now," Mai said. "It was just too obvious to miss it."

"Do you think we can hide Mokuba somewhere else?" Tristan asked.

Yugi shrugged. "I think they'd just look in all of our rooms. And there is no other place I know where we can hide him."

Bakura seemed to be thinking very hard, though. "I don't know, you guys. There is something about what Serenity did, that makes me think that she didn't mess up as much as we think." The others looked at him weirdly. "Joey seemed to trust her."

Marik snorted. "Then why did he tell Mokuba to stay there while his sister screamed that he should run?"

But Yugi seemed to agree with Bakura. "But what," he said, frowning, "if she wasn't screaming at Mokuba?" The others didn't understand what he meant.

"She said his name, smartass," Duke said. "Of course she was talking about him. Who else was she talking about?"

At that moment, there was a sound at the door. They turned to see Ishizu come in, followed by Joey. Serenity was in his arms, unconscious. They gasped.

Joey put her on the bed and told Mokuba it was safe to come out. Ishizu had already closed the door and was now getting the first aid kit. Mokuba sat down next to Serenity, staring down at her. No one spoke a word.

While Ishizu was bandaging the girl's head, everyone was looking at one another. But no one knew what had happened, although Yugi and Bakura had a faint idea. Joey and Mokuba were just watching as Ishizu took care of Serenity. She was still unconscious, but a small smile was on her face. As Marik looked at her, he wondered what she had done exactly. But the only one beside her who was likely to know was now watching his little sister concerned.

A small groan escaped from Serenity's lips, and her eyelids fluttered. She didn't wake up, however. Finally, it was Yugi who asked the question.

"Joey, what happened?" He wasn't only asking about Serenity now, but also about Johnson and Mokuba.

The boy looked at them, smirking. "Ma lil' sis just surprised me," he said in his typical accent. The others wanted further explanation, though. "I thought she'd never be able to get us out of this, but she managed. Apparently, she'd been planning this from the beginning. She made him think we had Mokuba, which was the truth. Then, she sighed before letting him in, making him unsure of whether this was right. Then, when he was checking the bathroom, she ran into the hallway and opened your door, Yugi, to make him think that someone had just come out of that room. She went to the stairs and shouted for Mokuba to run when he approached, and then she tried to keep him here for as long as she could, as if she was really trying to give Mokuba time to escape while he was not even there. That way, they will think that he is somewhere else in the building, hiding, and not here."

They were all staring at her. That was when Serenity slowly opened her eyes. "Ow, my head," she groaned. She then seemed to remember what had happened. For a moment, she lay completely still as her eyes were staring at the ceiling. Then, she smiled. "Can you look at my arm, too?" she asked.

When Ishizu smiled at her and pulled up the sleeve, she closed her eyes again, as if she was very tired. Ishizu couldn't blame her. With a head wound like that, she wouldn't feel good either. The bruise on her arm made Joey and Mokuba gasp. Someone had gripped her wrist very tight to cause this kind of bruise.

Serenity heard two gasps as she felt soft hands handle the bruise. There were three people around her, one of who would be her brother. The other, she assumed, would be Mokuba. And there was a woman. It could either be Tea, Mai or Ishizu.

"Don't worry about it," she said with a painful grin. "I got him back for it."

Her brother snickered. "I wouldn't have expected anything else from you, sis. I'm proud of you." She smiled at him.

In the meanwhile, the others were just staring at the ones on the bed. "Okay…" Mai said. "I hadn't expected that. Well done, Serenity. I see you have more brains than your brother." Everyone knew she didn't mean it, though. Joey had been the only one who had even known what she wanted to do. It was just a habit to Mai, as they all knew.

The others nodded. "Yeah, I really didn't see that one coming," Tristan said.

Serenity smiled at them. "Luckily, he didn't either." They snickered a little. "I just hope he won't come back."

When Ishizu spoke from next to her, Serenity knew that she was the one who was now carefully bandaging her arm. "If I understood it, I don't think he'll be back. He'll think that Mokuba will be too smart to return just after he'd been found here. And he would never think you were lying. The acting was too good for him to think so. It wouldn't make sense."

Marik was surprised. Perhaps his first impression of the girl hadn't been completely truthful. She was smarter than he'd first thought she'd be, and she had some courage too. This wasn't something everyone would do, especially after the one who the enemy wanted to have had lost his use anyhow by telling the information.

He saw her slowly falling asleep once more. He would be surprised if she didn't have a concussion. From the way his sister had looked while bandaging it up, he knew that it probably was quite a large wound.

They started a whispered conversation while Mokuba watched over the sleeping girl. Joey and Ishizu had come to sit with them again.

"What will we do now?" Tea whispered softly. "We have Mokuba, and the little information he has, but we have to find more. While I'm sure that all of you will be able to get through the first round tomorrow, there are others who won't. They'll be the victims of this mad scheme. And we have no idea if we can get them out of it or not."

Tristan spoke up. "From what Mokuba told us, it's impossible to get them back."

Yugi was staring in front of him. Then his eyes came back into focus. "Yami told me that it is possible to get people back from the Shadow Realm. But I don't know about the other part. Mokuba said that they wanted to use them for Duel Monsters or something like that. I don't know if that's reversible or not."

Duke frowned. "Did he mean that we would turn into Duel Monsters? I don't know about the truth in that, Yugi. It just doesn't seem likely to me," he whispered. "How would they turn us into Duel Monsters? Putting a stupid costume on us or something?" He snickered, and so did Tristan.

The others didn't see the fun of it, however. "I think this should be taken seriously," Ishizu said. "This is everything but a joke, and lives are at danger now. Perhaps my brother and I can help, but you have to take this seriously. The young girl already got hurt because of this, and it's only the beginning. The duels haven't started yet, and it will be hard to make others lose and therefore leave them to the mercy of the Big 5."

"Yeah," Joey said. "I bet that the winner of this tournament will be tortured by guilt all the time."

Bakura frowned. "The winner of this tournament…" The others looked at him, wondering what he was thinking about. Bakura looked up again. "Will they get that bracelet off? Because if the Big 5 refuses to get it off, the winner will be locked up here, with no way out."

They all frowned. No one put it past the Big 5 to just refuse to get the bracelet off and lock them in the hotel for all eternity.

Marik shook his head. "Let's not focus on after the tournament. We have to find a way to stop them as soon as possible, before too many people are lost to us. We need to have a plan, preferably before the tournament starts tomorrow. There is no time for useless conversation now."

No one could disagree. But they couldn't think of something, either. After about an hour of useless suggestions, Bakura spoke. "We need to eat. Not to be disrespectful or something, but we can't think if we don't eat."

"He's right," Joey agreed. "We can just take some food up here and pretend that it's just for Serenity. The bastard that was here before knows that he hurt her, so it's logical that she would stay here. It wouldn't be hard to fool them. And if we don't eat, we'll only grow irritated over time. And if there's anything we can't use at the moment, it's an argument between us." They nodded and went down for breakfast.

When they left the room, Serenity's eyes opened. She'd listened the whole time, unbeknownst to anyone but Mokuba. The boy was looking down upon her with a lost expression.

She sat up and took him in her arms. "Why did you do that? And why were you acting so differently?" he asked her innocently.

She looked him in the eye. "There is no need to try and fool me, Mokuba," she said. "You're smarter than you make people believe. I know already."

Serenity heard him sigh. "I'm sorry. It's just an old habit. I need it to survive most of the time. My brother knows me better than that, but no one else. They don't really try to see past the younger and less smart brother of the infamous Seto Kaiba."

He looked up at the face of the girl. He thought she had beautiful eyes. They were just like pools where one would never be able to see the depth, no matter how far they looked.

She smiled as she felt his eyes upon her. Her vision was near black now. When she'd hit her head, something had gone completely wrong with her eyes. Only the lightest shades seemed to stand out anymore, and they, too, would disappear soon.

"It's almost the same with me. It's just a façade I put on to fool people. My brother knows better, and now you do, too, but I hide it from everyone else. As you probably know, it's easier to seem innocent and dumb, since people don't expect too much of you then." They both sighed at the same time, which made them laugh a bit.

Mokuba looked at the girl once more. "When I'm being myself, I'm always very confident. What are you like, when you're being yourself?" he asked curiously.

Serenity looked in his general direction once more. "In one word? I'd call myself calculating."

Mokuba crawled further into her arms. "I'm afraid," he whispered. "Everything is just so wrong now. And perhaps Seto won't even survive. He's all I have left on this world." He shivered, even though he wasn't cold. Serenity hugged him tightly, humming to him.

The humming turned into singing. It was a piece of a song she'd heard before, and it somehow comforted her when she was despairing. Mokuba listened to her beautiful voice as the words formed themselves and conjured a wonderful melody. "We're part of a story, part of a tale… We're all on this journey, no one is to stay… where is it going, what is the way? We're part of a story, part of a tale… Sometimes beautiful and sometimes insane… No one remembers how it began…"

The young boy stared in front of him. "What'll happen now?" he asked. "How will this all end?"

The girl shook her head, and stared into nothingness.

"I don't know, Mokuba. I just don't know…"

>

Lass: I hope you liked it. Please review if you have any ideas/suggestions or just want to tell me what you think of it. I'll see you later!


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